Monday, January 30, 2012

Shutterfly: My New Mug!!!

Mug
View the entire collection of cards.

This evening I created my first "world's best mom" mug on Shutterfly! And of course I ordered a "world's greatest dad" mug, too! I had a $20 promo code from when I registered at Target Baby awhile back, and a free unique shipping code Shutterfly emailed me today (check your email!), so my total for both 15oz. mugs SHIPPED to my front door was $3.85!!! (Yes, you can stack promo codes at Shutterfly... for this order I stacked THREE!--I also ordered a birthday card for my stash)

Why am I telling you this? Pretty much every time I've placed an order on Shutterfly, they offer $10 off my next purchase if I share my project on my blog/website. Which of course I do, because then I can order things again in the future! This is my first time to order a coffee mug from Shutterfly, but I've ordered lots of cards from them before. Honestly, they are my favorite online photo store. I've never been disappointed.

If you've never tried Shutterfly before, and would like to, or you just want to add another personalized card to your birthday stash, you can use promo code "CARD4U" to get a free 5x7 or 5x5 card. Just pay $.99 shipping (and possibly a few cents in tax). Have fun!!!

Shop through ShopAtHome for 8% cashback, or Ebates for 4% cashback.

Friday, January 27, 2012

$2/1 Tilex Coupon (printable)

Head (well, hurry, since these usually don't last long!) over to the Tilex Facebook page. They are offering a $2/1 Tilex Mold & Mildew coupon after you watch a very short video. This should make for some decently cheap cleaning supplies!

Thanks, Passionate Penny Pincher!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Coffee-Mate: $.55/1 & $.75/2 coupon available again...

If you like to splurge with your morning coffee with some delicious Coffee-Mate creamer, there are printable coupons once again available here. After signing into your account (free), you can print both the $.55/1 and $.75/2 Liquid or Powder creamer coupons. If your store doubles, you can get some really cheap creamer. Even if your store doesn't double, that still brings down the price quite a bit. Enjoy!

Amazon: What's the Deal with FREE E-Books?

I love reading. Since I was a little girl, one of my favorite things to do is curl up with a good book for a couple hours (or more). And yes, it's true, if I start a book late at night "to start shutting down", I have been known to stay up reading into the wee hours of the morning to finish it. Guilty as charged!

That's why I love how many FREE e-books come up on Amazon for me to download. They are free for only a short period of time, so I make sure to "purchase" them before the price goes back up. These books are promoted as free for a period of time by the publisher as a marketing strategy to help you get to know an author/series. So often it will be a "Book 1" by someone, then you'll want to read of the rest of the series. Since I am frugal in my reading (like the rest of my lifestyle), I usually look up the author at our public library and request the rest of the books that way! :-) Once a book has been purchased, it's saved to your Amazon account and you permanently own it (so you can also delete it if you don't like it!). You can then read it any time you want from any device you want.

One thing I love about the e-books on Amazon is that you don't have to have a Kindle to read them. You can download a FREE Kindle App for your PC, Mac, Android phone, iPhone, Blackberry, iPad, etc... to read them. This last year I read over 60 free e-books on my iPad.

Yes, this is a more random post, but I wanted to explain a little more about free e-books for any readers who might not be familiar with what they are or how to use them. I also wanted to let y'all know that I also "screen" free e-books before posting them by taking the time to check the author & publisher, as well as the reviews, to make sure it would be a book worth my time. Knowing publishers I trust (like Bethany House, Tyndale, Waterbrook Multnomah, and several others) help me take risks on authors I haven't heard of before. For me personally, I try to choose books that are encouraging & edifying to my lifestyle, personal values, and faith. Yep, even fiction books. I won't post something that I wouldn't read myself. I don't get to fully read them before I post (and if I waited to post until after I read them, they probably wouldn't be free any more) because most days I'm consumed with changing diapers & feeding two small kids! :-)

So that's a little bit behind why I post so many free e-books. I love reading them when I have time, and I don't have to load kids into the car to go to the library!

Book Review: "Everything Romance"

Everything Romance: A Celebration of Love for Couples
My most recent read as part of the Blogging For Books program was "Everything Romance: A Celebration of Love for Couples". The book description reads:
"Ready to create romantic memories? If you’re looking for new and unique ways to celebrate love, captivate the heart of your true love, or simply enjoy each other’s company,Everything Romance offers all of this and much more. 

Inside you’ll find…
 
Ways to engage your loved one with conversation starters for couples; Fun and creative date and gift ideas for any budget; Heartwarming love stories and poems; Love busters and love boosters to add fun, zing, and zest; Trivia about the history of love and romance; Recipes to fan the heartflames."


To be honest, while the book does contain a lot of those things, I felt like it fell a little short. This book is more of an anthology of classic and modern love stories, poetry, recipes, dates, phrases, etc... with no apparent rhyme or reason to the order of things in the book. I was expecting it to be a little bit more organized, like categories for each. This book reminds me more of a coffee table book (or bathroom reading), with short snippets you can read in a few moments by just opening the book and reading where your hand falls... Some of the stuff was just plain cheesy!

My husband and I have been married for over 4 years now and seek different ways to continue build our relationship & marriage. This wouldn't be a book I would recommend for those purposes. Whimsical and cute, but not something for marriage growth. 

So weird to write a review on a book I wasn't crazy about! Oh well, I can't always hit home runs with books! You can rank my review here (the more "stars" I earn through reviews, the better book selection offered to me, so I really appreciate honest reviews! Takes only a few seconds!!!):


Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Free E-Book: "Design on a Crime"

Design on a Crime (Deadly Décor Mysteries, Book 1)
Amazon is also currently still offering Design on a Crime (Deadly Décor Mysteries, Book 1) by Ginny Aiken for FREE right now. I just finished this one this weekend and it was also a really good mystery novel. Kind of Jessica Fletcher style. I definitely recommend it. Prices change quickly, so don't wait around, and make sure it's still $0.00 when you purchase it!

If you don't have a Kindle, you can read it on your PC, iPad, Android, etc... by downloading the FREE Kindle app here.

Free E-Book: "Invisible"

Invisible (Ivy Malone Mystery Series #1)
Amazon is still offering Invisible (Ivy Malone Mystery Series #1) by Lorena McCourtney for FREE. This is probably one of my top 5 favorite free books I have read this past year. It was so good I checked out the rest of the books in the series from our local library. For those of you who love classic mystery novels, this is a modern day Miss Marple (Agatha Christie) type story. Prices change quickly, so don't wait around, and make sure it's still $0.00 when you purchase it!

If you don't have a Kindle, you can read it on your PC, iPad, Android, etc... by downloading the FREE Kindle app here.

Target: FREE or Cheap Mac & Cheese

UPDATE: I went today to my Target and tried out this deal... The coupon DOES work on the $.52 & $.59 boxes of macaroni & cheese, however, the computer automatically adjusts the coupon down to the price of the macaroni, so you do get one box completely free, but the second box you pay full retail price. Great deal, the scenario just needed to be updated!


There is a new Target Coupon for $1 off boxed Market Pantry Macaroni & Cheese. These are usually around $.50 a box, so when you use this coupon, you can get two boxes for FREE (or close to free)! Not the healthiest meal on a regular basis, but definitely handy to have on crazy days when your sanity is needed in other places other than the kitchen. My little boy loves when I mix in an extra cup of pasta (like shells or spirals). There is plenty of cheese to cover the additional shells! And it makes the meal go a little farther.

FREE BOOK: "The Witness" by Dee Henderson

 
Amazon is offering the e-book "The Witness" by Dee Henderson for FREE right now. Prices change quickly, so don't wait around, and make sure it's still $0.00 when you purchase it!

If you don't have a Kindle, you can read it on your PC, iPad, and just about everything else by downloading the FREE Kindle app here.

Thanks, Frugal Girls!

Monday, January 2, 2012

Hickory Farms: 75% off plus FREE SHIPPING to all Military!!!! ($10 Flat shipping otherwise)

I LOVED this deal last year when it was offered: Hickory Farms is currently offering 75% off EVERYTHING, with $10 flat rate shipping. But what makes this deal the sweetest is that Hickory Farms offers FREE SHIPPING to anyone in the military (APO/DPO/FPO addresses). There are quite a few packages of sausage, cheese, & crackers that would be $10 or under (discount taken at checkout). What a fun, inexpensive way to tell our military thanks so much for their daily sacrifice!

Last year we got to spoil my cousin & her husband (both in the Air Force). We only chose two boxes, so our total was around $18 shipped, but they said there was so much they had plenty to share with the others stationed with them. These men & women selflessly serve our country so they we can live the lives we live! Tell them thanks any chance you can get!!!

Thanks for the heads up, Hip2Save!